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Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org Profile picture
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17 Apr, 17 tweets, 13 min read
Today's the anniversary of the Senate’s deadly failure to pass gun violence prevention reform via the filibuster.

What happened on 4/17/13 shows exactly why we must #AbolishTheFilibuster — & why we must stop at nothing to push the Senate to pass background checks today.

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The legislation that was killed on the Senate floor 8 years ago today was in response to the Sandy Hook shooting, where 20 first-graders & 6 school employees were senselessly murdered.

Americans across the country, DEMANDED Congress strengthen our weak gun laws. @NewtownAction
In response, the Senate took up a series of gun reform bills. The reforms included a bipartisan bill to expand Brady Background Checks, aka “Manchin-Toomey”.

Why background checks? A shocking 1 in 5 guns in America is sold without a background check.
We desperately need to close these deadly loopholes in our nation’s background check system so that we can keep guns away from people who shouldn’t have them. #EndGunViolence #TheTimeIsNow @bradybuzz bradyunited.org/issue/laws-and…
Just like they do today, Americans in 2013 overwhelmingly supported expanding background checks.

Yet 8 years ago — despite having the support of 55 senators — a minority of anti-gun safety senators filibustered the bipartisan background check bill. bradyunited.org/program/democr…
Here's @bradybuzz's @TChristianHeyne's account. He was in the gallery that day. He and other survivors of gun violence were watching what they hoped would have been a historical vote to bring forward lifesaving progress to prevent gun violence.
Instead, they saw this. #EnoughIsEnough
As @gailcollins wrote here, the filibuster is deadly.

It has been used to stifle critical reforms for decades.

Few moments have shown the need for reform more than when the Senate killed background check legislation April 17, 2013. #AbolishTheFilibuster
nytimes.com/2021/03/17/opi…
So where does that leave us today?

There's good news: Lifesaving background check legislation is sitting before the Senate now.

We need to fight like hell to prevent it from being killed.

#TheTimeIsNow #EndGunViolence

@fred_guttenberg @NewtownAction @bradybuzz
More good news:

There are not one, but TWO bipartisan bills that the Senate can pass to save lives.

And both were just passed by the U.S. House.

There's #HR8 (#S529) by @RepThompson and @ChrisMurphyCT. And #HR1446 by @WhipClyburn. #TheTimeIsNow bradyunited.org/press-releases…
You can send a message to your senators *right now* to urge them to pass these bills. Our team at @bradybuzz has made it as easy as a few clicks. Please act now! #EndGunViolence #TheTimeIsNow bradyunited.org/act/expand-str…
You can also text CHECKS to 877-877 and @bradybuzz will patch you through to your senator’s office.

Tell them #TheTimeIsNow to expand background checks to prevent senseless gun violence! #EnoughIsEnough
Even as we reflect on April 17, 2013, there is reason to be hopeful today. Huge progress has been made:

We voted out NRA-backed politicians.

We flipped the House, Senate, and White House to gun safety majorities.

We elected the strongest gun safety @POTUS ever.

#TheTimeIsNow
And let's not forget, Mitch McConnell is no longer holding the Senate hostage to the gun lobby. #TheTimeIsNow #EndGunViolence
But perhaps most importantly, support for common-sense gun reform has only grown.

+90% (!!) of Americans support strengthening our gun laws, including expanding background checks.

Americans are saying #EnoughIsEnough. We're demanding #GunReformNow. morningconsult.com/2021/03/10/hou…
We're truly on the cusp of life-saving change.

Following this latest spate of tragic gun violence, we must channel our grief and anger into action.

We must demand each and every single senator put our lives ahead of gun lobby profits and pass #GunReformNow!

#TheTimeIsNow
People thought that Jim & Sarah Brady couldn't pass the Brady Bill. But they did. It took years. They didn't let up.

"You have to keep the pressure on," said Sarah Brady. But it can be done."

Please, contact your senators now! #TheTimeIsNow #GunReformNow

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More from @KrisB_Brown

Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org Profile picture
17 Apr
Huge thank you to @JohnWoodrowCox for joining us on the @bradybuzz podcast to talk about his new book, "Children Under Fire."

We are failing our children if we do not change our nation's weak gun laws. Pleases give this episode a listen. #EndGunViolence bradyunited.org/podcast/episod…
A big part of our conversation was about safe firearm storage — which too often is not a part of the conversation around gun violence.

Yet every day in America, 8 kids are killed due to "family fire," or a shooting involving an improperly stored or misused gun. @EndFamilyFire
.@JohnWoodrowCox told us he sent his book to members of Congress — hoping they'd understand the apolitical importance of safe storage laws.

"It's baffling to me that there's very few people saying, 'Hey, why don't we just lock up the guns that we have?'" #EndFamilyFire
Read 6 tweets
Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org Profile picture
16 Apr
14 years ago today, I watched in horror as a gunman opened fire at my alma mater, Virginia Tech.

32 people were killed and 23 were injured that day.

As a student, I'd spent countless hours in the building struck by the shooter. Here's what I've learned since.

🧵Thread
Some of my friends had become professors at Virginia Tech, and I only learned later that they were safe.

It was an awful day that I will never forget. In the years since as Prez of @bradybuzz, I’ve become close friends w/ more survivors & their families. krisbrownbrady.medium.com/april-is-a-pai…
.@clgoddard was in French class at #VirginiaTech when he was shot 4x.

Today, those bullet fragments are still lodged in his body. He takes daily pills to prevent lead poisoning.

The toll of gun violence continues for years and lifetimes. #EndGunViolence
people.com/crime/virginia…
Read 14 tweets
Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org Profile picture
8 Apr
OK, let's be clear, common-sense gun reforms are entirely consistent with the Second Amendment.

Just as Scalia said in the Heller decision, the 2A is like any other constitutional right in that it has sensible limitations based on public safety.

🧵Thread cbsnews.com/video/biden-sa…
For too long, we've lived under the gun lobby's reckless, dystopian, and outright deadly (!) vision of the Second Amendment. They willfully misinterpret the Constitution to bestow civilians with unfettered access to firearms.

That was *never* the Founder's intention.
As the 9th Circuit Court affirmed just last month, the Second Amendment does NOT mean unfettered access to guns beyond reason. We can — and should — enact life-saving, sensible gun regulations.

(PS You can see my thread on that recent court ruling here.)
Read 8 tweets
Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org Profile picture
8 Apr
BREAKING: @WhiteHouse has just released details on @POTUS's executive actions to reduce gun violence.

This. Is. Huge.

These lifesaving reforms represent the boldest action our country has taken to reduce gun violence in 30 years. @bradybuzz whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/…
.@WhiteHouse's 6 executive actions to reduce gun violence will:

1️⃣ address the flow of unregulated ghost guns
2️⃣ address dangerous uses of stabilizing braces
3️⃣ strengthen extreme risk laws, which prevent gun suicide
4️⃣ prioritize investment in community interventions

(cont'd)
5️⃣ issue an annual report on gun trafficking to provide data to inform lifesaving policy solutions
6️⃣ nominate former ATF agent @davidchipman as @ATFHQ director to oversee and enhance gun industry oversight

#EndGunViolence cc @bradybuzz
Read 6 tweets
Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org Profile picture
30 Mar
40 years ago on March 30, 1981, a bullet changed the course of U.S. history.

White House Press Sec Jim Brady was shot in the head when a gunman tried to kill President Reagan. Jim was paralyzed. But he used the tragedy to take on the NRA & change our nation's gun laws.

🧵Thread
President Reagan was struck by a single bullet. He'd feel the effects for years. Two officers were also wounded.

Jim was shot in the head. He'd been on the job as Reagan's @WhiteHouse press secretary — his dream job — for just two months. cc @POTUS
The news that day falsely reported that Jim Brady was dead. It's not hard to undertand why — the scene itself was gruesome, and Jim's injury was near fatal.

Here's video/audio of Jim's wife, Sarah, reflecting on getting the news. #OnThisDay #TodayinHistory
Read 25 tweets
Kris Brown | President, bradyunited.org Profile picture
28 Mar
We know that @POTUS has it in him to make gun violence prevention a #1 priority.

We know because he did it before:

✅ when he worked w/ Jim Brady to pass the Brady Bill ✅ when he worked w/ @bradybuzz to pass an assault weapons ban

#TheTimeIsNow to act. npr.org/2021/03/28/981…
3/30/21 marks 40 years since Jim Brady was shot in the Reagan assassination attempt. He was paralyzed for life but didn't let that stop him. @POTUS can honor Jim Brady & save countless lives by taking immediate action to reduce gun violence. #TheTimeIsNow
So many Americans like me remember exactly where they were the day @WhiteHouse's Jim Brady was shot, 40 years ago this Tuesday.

It is fresh in our minds as our country's gun violence epidemic continues to rage. #TheTimeIsNow #EnoughIsEnough @POTUS bradyunited.org/podcast/episod…
Read 5 tweets

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